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iPhone Restoring Helvetica Neue as System Font in iOS 9

S

ssray23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 20, 2014
13
3
Is there any way I could restore the system font in iOS 9 from "San Francisco" back to "Helvetica Neue"?

I understand it may not be possible via Settings as Apple may not offer us a choice to choose System Fonts in iOS 9. If that is ruled out, what are the other options I have? Jailbreak, Cydia?? Any other option?

Addtional Note: Should I take backup of the Helvetica Neue system fonts in iOS 8.4 right now on my laptop, so that I could use them in iOS 9 later? If yes, how will I be able to do that?

Thanks in advance,
S Ray
 
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moomanjohnny

moomanjohnny

macrumors regular
Jul 14, 2014
132
42
California
As for the original question. Yes, the only way for you to get Helvetica Neue back is to jailbreak and install Bytafont 2 and change the font. But I wouldn't expect an iOS 9 jailbreak soon.

No, you won't have to backup Helvetica Neue, by the time an iOS 9 Jailbreak comes out, someone will upload the Helvetica Neue font to Cydia.
 
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S

ssray23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 20, 2014
13
3
moomanjohnny said:
May I ask why you would want Helvetica Neue instead of San Fransisco?
Click to expand...

In one line - San Fransciso is terrible!

I have been using iPhone since v1 (2007) and I have got used to seeing Helvetica (and Neue) over the years. Anything else right now, makes me feel that I am not using an iPhone !!

Thanks for the BytaFont suggestion. I will be jailbreaking my phone when iOS9 finally arrives. Unless, of course Apple provides an option to change the system font from San Franciso back to Helvetica Neue ...
 
Fzang

Fzang

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2013
1,315
1,081
ssray23 said:
In one line - San Fransciso is terrible!

I have been using iPhone since v1 (2007) and I have got used to seeing Helvetica (and Neue) over the years. Anything else right now, makes me feel that I am not using an iPhone !!

Thanks for the BytaFont suggestion. I will be jailbreaking my phone when iOS9 finally arrives. Unless, of course Apple provides an option to change the system font from San Franciso back to Helvetica Neue ...
Click to expand...

You'll feel like that for a couple of days. Then you'll never notice it again. Calm down.
 
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M

mostman

macrumors regular
Aug 24, 2006
126
26
lancastor said:
Apple should the users decide what font they want to use. It's so a simple option to implement.
Click to expand...

Written like you don't understand the development repercussions of allowing different system fonts. Doing so would cause an incredible amount of work for iOS developers.

As for the original post, I can see why some people would have issues with SF - the bold weights (like the time in the status bar) just seem off. However, it's far more legible and can be read faster. I adjusted after about 3 days.
 
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gsmornot

gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,585
3,694
mostman said:
Written like you don't understand the development repercussions of allowing different system fonts. Doing so would cause an incredible amount of work for iOS developers.

As for the original post, I can see why some people would have issues with SF - the bold weights (like the time in the status bar) just seem off. However, it's far more legible and can be read faster. I adjusted after about 3 days.
Click to expand...

Same here, I adjusted quickly. Have an Apple Watch and seeing the font on a regular basis I was prepared. To me, I hardly notice the difference from before.
 
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K

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
It will indeed get better after a short time. There are definitely some readability improvements in some places. Ultimately it's a good think that Apple favours function over form in this case. Apple also introduced lots of new font APIs that are built on the new fonts. Using a jailbreak tweak is probably not going to be satisfactory in the long run.
 
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!!!

!!!

macrumors 6502a
Aug 5, 2013
666
889
ssray23 said:
In one line - San Fransciso is terrible!

I have been using iPhone since v1 (2007) and I have got used to seeing Helvetica (and Neue) over the years. Anything else right now, makes me feel that I am not using an iPhone !!

Thanks for the BytaFont suggestion. I will be jailbreaking my phone when iOS9 finally arrives. Unless, of course Apple provides an option to change the system font from San Franciso back to Helvetica Neue ...
Click to expand...
Totally agree. When I look at iOS 9 I feel like I'm looking at android.
 
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The Doctor11

The Doctor11

macrumors 603
Dec 15, 2013
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New York
I recommend you use it for 1 week. That's it just week and see how you feel after that. I personally love the font, and yes at first it's like "holy **** that looks different" but after a day or so it's just how it looks.
 
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0

0000757

macrumors 68040
Dec 16, 2011
3,894
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Life is full of compromises.

I never really enjoyed Helvetica Neue that much. Even less so when they stopped using the UltraThin variant after the first (or second) iOS 7 beta. At least the super thin one was elegant.
 
H

hasanahmad

macrumors 65816
May 20, 2009
1,426
1,561
ssray23 said:
Is there any way I could restore the system font in iOS 9 from "San Francisco" back to "Helvetica Neue"?

I understand it may not be possible via Settings as Apple may not offer us a choice to choose System Fonts in iOS 9. If that is ruled out, what are the other options I have? Jailbreak, Cydia?? Any other option?

Addtional Note: Should I take backup of the Helvetica Neue system fonts in iOS 8.4 right now on my laptop, so that I could use them in iOS 9 later? If yes, how will I be able to do that?

Thanks in advance,
S Ray
Click to expand...

Solution : jailbreak or get an android. After 10 years of iOS you should know changing the font is not possible yet on a system level

Come on keep the level of posts up
 
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K

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
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chrf097 said:
Life is full of compromises.

I never really enjoyed Helvetica Neue that much. Even less so when they stopped using the UltraThin variant after the first (or second) iOS 7 beta. At least the super thin one was elegant.
Click to expand...

Helvetica is a great typeface, but it just has its shortcomings. They could never use it for the Watch and on OS X it was met with widespread criticism as well, particularly by users who want to work with their system and not be constrained by poor font rendering and readability. The iPhone was the only device that actually worked with it, although that was largely because iOS 1-6 used thicker and larger fonts and many people complained too when iOS 7 reversed that. Helvetica just isn't a nice typeface for smaller sizes, it never was and I'm happy that Apple finally sees this.

Helvetica is also very old. It is overused so much that it long since passed the stage of becoming the Times New Roman. It isn't worth sticking to it forever.
 
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iamMacPerson

iamMacPerson

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2011
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I thought San Francisco was a welcome change honestly. Helvetica/Helvetica Neue was getting long in the tooth and San Francisco is a great alternative. I have been waiting for it to come to iOS actually, since I had it installed as a custom font under Yosemite since March. It's so much more legible for both older non-Retina and Retina displays. Plus, Apple is finally streamlining (for the most part) their fonts between watchOS, iOS, and OS X. Some uniformity finally.
 
W

WordMasterRice

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2010
734
100
Upstate NY
mostman said:
Written like you don't understand the development repercussions of allowing different system fonts. Doing so would cause an incredible amount of work for iOS developers.

As for the original post, I can see why some people would have issues with SF - the bold weights (like the time in the status bar) just seem off. However, it's far more legible and can be read faster. I adjusted after about 3 days.
Click to expand...
Written like someone who hasn't actually done any iOS development. This is specifically what dynamic type is for.
 
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